Troll of The Year: The Linden Ageplay Allegations Controversy

 

SL news is full of people accomplishing great things and helping others. Unfortunately, one of the biggest news stories this year was caused by a single individual whose accusations led to questions about some of the Lindens and Moles and resulting in policy changes which irritated many.

In late February, a number of residents were taking about an article that accused a number of Lindens and Moles of taking part in ageplay (sexual roleplay between an adult and a minor) with avatars designed to look like young teens. While the writer claimed to be well-known, a search of his name didn't point out other articles. Prokovy Neva, no friend of the Lab, would state that aside from a real-life name or two mentioned, there was no real evidence anything in the write-up was true. As one commenting in the Newser would say, "Anyone can make any claim they want about anything. And in SL, its also easy to create evidence of anything - you take a picture then add awful textures to replace the innocent ones on their wall. Sorry, but in this postPhotoshop world, having a picture is not sufficient to hang someone. Anyone can take any picture in SL and edit it to look like anything else."

 

Eventually, the Lab would take the discussions seriously enough to start investigating, reminding people, "we have a zero-tolerance policy against sexualized ageplay" and they were taking the accusations seriously. On May, Linden Lab announced changes in their child avatar policy, notably that they could no longer be nude and needed a "modesty layer," and could no longer enter any sim rated Adult, even if the location had nothing of a sexual nature. The later led to a number of complaints, particularly because some residential sims were labeled adult out of fear the Lab would boot consenting adults for what happened behind closed doors. The change in policy would affect the Burn2 festival as it had allowed both nudity and child avatars, notably Marianne McCann who helped out at the event. But with the new rule, she could no longer attend. 

Bellissaria chat would be quiet of blue dialogue from the Lindens and Moles for a while, and for a time those named in the article, notably Patch Linden, would keep a low profile for a while. Many cheered when he reappeared, but there were a few going along the lines of "hide the children!" 

Yours truly is not going to mention the man who caused all this by name, or psudonym, but he is our "troll of the year" for 2024. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life's Lab Gab - April 2024 Update, Progress on Mobile Viewer and PBR, Child Avatar Policy "Strengthening"

 

 

On Friday April 19, Linden Lab had a pre-recorded episode of Lab Gab. It included the following shorcuts to certain subjects. Strawberry Linden would interview Grumpity Linden, then later in the video (on the Beta Grid) Signal and Kyle Linden, then Kiera Linden.

00:00 - Introduction 01:00 - Grumpity Linden Introduction (Senior VP of Product and Engineering) 01:15 - Mobile App Questions 02:55 - Premium Plus subscribers can sign up for Second Life Mobile Private Alpha testing here: https://lindenlab.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/31000171885-premium-plus-second-life-mobile-private-alpha-sign-up 03:27 - Mobile App progress and updates: https://second.life/mobilenews040524 06:45 - Second Life Mobile App - Developer Update Video (April 2024): https://youtu.be/ciRARYhZcZ4 09:25 - Feedback Portal: https://feedback.secondlife.com 10:15 - Rapid fire questions for Mobile app features 10:27 - Will there be support for HUDS on Mobile? 10:31 - Ability to create and build on Mobile? 10:52 - What about voice on Mobile? 10:55 - Region Estate management on Mobile? 11:03 - Mobile-specific features like GPS, vibration, and webcam integration? 11:20 - Support for keyboards and mouse control on tablets? 11:29 - Will Mobile access be free? 12:03 - Mirrors, PBR Terrain, and 2K textures: https://second.life/technews032824 12:49 - Teleporting over to the beta grid! 12:56 - Signal Linden (Director of Engineering) and Kyle Linden (Product Manager) Introduction 13:50 - Mirror Demo by Signal Linden 15:48 - 2K textures information - pricing and performance impact 17:27 - PBR Terrain Demo by Kyle Linden 17:37 - Location is Rumpus Room 2048 on the Beta Grid 18:40 - Materials Featurettes Viewer: https://releasenotes.secondlife.com/viewer/7.1.4.8270899680.html 19:14 - Accessing Aditi (the beta grid): https://lindenlab.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/31000156725-accessing-aditi 20:05 - Teleporting back to the main grid! 20:23 - Keira Linden Introduction (Manager of Support Operations) 21:14 - Second Life age requirements and Child Avatar Policy information and update 23:30 - Governance and Conduct Policy updates 23:59 - New content moderation tools for both inworld and on the marketplace 24:14 - New Community Roundtable with Second Life Leadership coming in late May 25:23 - SL21B Updates: https://community.secondlife.com/blogs/blog/4-featured-news/39-second-life-birthday 26:22 - Mark your calendars - https://second.life/calendar 26:26 - Follow the Featured News Blog for upcoming updates: https://second.life/featurednews

 

Among what was discussed, Grumpity stated there were "No plans to charge for access" to the mobile viewer. It will be able to use HUDS, but of being able to build inworld and manage estates, maybe, "For serious creation, you're still going to have to use desktop." They are hoping to open the mobile viewer access further to include Premium residents "soon."

 

Progress is being made on mirrors in the Beta Grid, as well as PBR terrain, "you can see the sunshine bounce off the surfaces." There is no scheduled release date, though they felt "weeks and not months." 

 

Of the issue of underage residents in areas with clearly adult content, Kiera Linden would say, "one thing we are looking at closely is strengthening our age verification process, something we'll be sharing more about soon. ,,,Let me be clear on this one, we do not and will never allow sexualized ageplay. We do have a policy on this, and it is strictly enforced. In addition, we want to acknowledge and recognize there are residents who enjoy roleplaying as child avatars, and we have no intention of preventing that." They wanted the community of child avatars to continue to feel welcome, "but child avatars should not be present near or in regions that also have adult-rated activities. We're in the process of strengthening our child avatar policy right now, and you'll see us roll that out soon. But one of the guiding factors to these changes is to ensure an even stronger separation between child avatars, and adult-rated content and activities." 

Kiera would also say there would soon be "better clarity and stronger guidelines on conduct and policies both within our community and in our organization. Internally, we're finalizing an update to the conduct policy which addresses a wide range of topics such as how Linden Lab employees interact with the community, and policies that address perceptions of conflict of interest, or favoritism."

 

There was also a mention of a "Community Roundtable" in late May, which Grumpity called part of the desire for better communication with the residents.

Strawberry would also talk about the upcoming SL21B

Bixyl Shuftan

Breaking News: Linden Lab's Executive Chairman Makes Statement on Ageplay Accusations

 

This afternoon, there was an announcement from Linden Lab's Executive Chairman, Brad Oberwager, concerning some accusations that some Lindens and Moles were engaged in ageplay (virtual roleplay of child sex abuse). He stated that the charges are being taken very seriously, and while nothing's been found yet, the investigation is continuing to make double sure.

I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to the Second Life community. Thank you for being part of this wonderful world and giving us the time to carefully assess our situation after we became the subject of a blog post that has the potential to cause harm to our dedicated community members and the virtual world platform that so many people call “home.” 

The post contains a complex mix of accusations regarding Second Life, and it questions our strong dedication to maintaining a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all members of the Second Life community.

Our Response to the Allegations

At the heart of the blog post were unsettling accusations about sexualized, virtual avatar ageplay, including alleged violations of our community guidelines. I want to be clear: we have a zero-tolerance policy against sexualized ageplay. The safety and integrity of the Second Life platform are paramount to us, especially concerning the protection of minors. 

We will continue to enforce our existing governance policies and community standards and we are proud of our collaboration with law enforcement and organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to combat child exploitation. These efforts underscore our commitment to a safe online environment. 

With that said, I want to acknowledge that we can do better; this has been a harsh wake-up call for us that we need to take tangible actions to improve Second Life’s governance policies and protective features that benefit the entire community.

Our Actions Moving Forward

I promise you that we are taking this very seriously. Very. Full stop. 

I promise we hear you. We know you're angry and you're confused. We are working to do our best to resolve your concerns and restore your trust in us. These are complicated issues and we want to do things right. We will make mistakes along the way. I wish I could say we will not, but we will. 

As owner of Linden Lab, I have initiated a thorough investigation, both internally and with external partners, to review whether or not there have been any violations of our company and community policies by employees, contractors, or community members. While early preliminary internal investigations suggest that some of the accusations are unfounded, I want to make sure that we get additional investigative support externally to ensure that the process is fair and thorough.

One of our top priorities has been to ensure the safety of our residents, moles, employees, and families. There are real people behind the avatars, and it has been important to confirm that nobody was in actual physical danger. 

Additionally, I am taking proactive steps to review and revamp many of our policies, including a comprehensive review of our Community Standards, Content Guidelines, and Ageplay Policy. Any violation detected will be met with swift enforcement actions to protect our community. We’ll be sharing these revised policies in the coming weeks and, critically, we are turning to the community to help us shape the future of how governance operates within Second Life. 

Our Commitment to You

Second Life remains a vibrant platform for expression, creativity, and connection. I and the Second Life team are deeply committed to protecting our community and ensuring that Second Life continues to be a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space for everyone. Your trust is our priority, and we pledge to work tirelessly to maintain and enhance the integrity of our virtual world.

I appreciate the patience and support of our community as we navigate this challenge. Together, we will emerge stronger and more united in our mission to build the best possible virtual world experience.

 

The accusations were made from an anonymous account on a blog in late February.  The Newser reported on March that the Lab was starting to investigate them. 

Hat Tip: Daniel Voyager

 

Bixyl Shuftan

Update on Lawsuit Against Linden Lab

It was on Wednesday July 31st that former cybersecurity worker for Linden Lab, Kavaya Pearlman, announced she had filed a lawsuit against the Lab alleging that they had fired her in retaliation for bringing up multiple security issues concerning cybersecurity laws, and that part of the reason for her losing her job was for being a woman and an ethnic and religious minority. A little more than two weeks later on Friday August 16, Wired Magazine had an article about the lawsuit, which had some more information and a statement from Linden Lab's spokesman Brett Atwood.

“While we will fight her alleged claims in court, we deny any allegations that the company has engaged in any illegal activity. Ms. Pearlman left the company on March 15 only after she was given the opportunity to improve her work performance. We look forward to all the facts coming out in a court of law.”

The article would say Pearlman claimed Linden Lab "was not complying with anti-money-laundering rules," such as required information about the skill game operators. Atwood would respond to Wired over email, "All Second Life skill gaming operators must provide and verify their identification as part of a rigorous application process. We are in compliance with all legal regulations and all skill gaming operators agree to our Terms and Conditions as part of the review and approval process for our Skill Gaming program.”

The Wired article would state that the lawsuit mentions Linden Lab's fraud team manager "presented information to Linden board members in quarterly fraud reports that acknowledged a high number of such Ageplay [sic] violations were actually occurring on a regular basis each quarter." The lawsuit would also claim the Lab's chief compliance officer at the time, Scot Butler, wrote a memo, "urging compliance with cybersecurity laws consistent with Pearlman’s repeated concerns." Wired would state that "a former high-level Linden Lab employee confirmed the contents of the memo." When the Linden Lab spokesman was asked about the descriptions of ageplay, he responded, "If any such activity is detected, individuals or groups promoting or providing such content and activities will be subject to enforcement actions, which may include immediate termination of accounts (including all detectable alternate accounts), closure of related groups, removal of content, blacklisting of payment information and loss of land or access to virtual land.”

Nothing was mentioned of the contrast between the allegations of Pearlman's alleged ill treatment by the Lab due to being "a minority, a woman, a Muslim woman and an immigrant" and Linden Lab's actions in recent years such as issuing a statement against a Presidential order imposing immigration restrictions, and joining other companies in a statement of support of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered workers against discrimination.

Source: Wired

Hat tip: New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan